In this episode of Affinity for Infiniti, host Chaya Abelsky sits down with Dr. Irena O’Brien for a thoughtful conversation on personal transformation and resilient leadership.

Drawing from her background in psychology and her work with leaders and helping professionals, Dr. O’Brien explores how inner awareness, emotional resilience, and intentional self-work shape the way we lead, coach, and show up for others. She speaks candidly about navigating pressure, uncertainty, and responsibility—and why sustainable leadership begins with understanding ourselves first.

This episode bridges deep inner work with real-world leadership, offering listeners practical insights on how growth, self-regulation, and reflection create leaders who are not only effective, but grounded and human.

Listeners will take away:

• 🔹 How personal transformation fuels strong, resilient leadership

• 🔹 Why inner awareness is essential for coaches and leaders

• 🔹 Tools for navigating pressure without burnout

• 🔹 The connection between emotional insight and leadership presence

• 🔹 How leading yourself well changes how you lead others

A meaningful listen for coaches, leaders, and professionals committed to growth—from the inside out.

Coaching Across Cultures — A Conversation with Dave Lipsky

What happens when coaching meets culture?

In this episode of Affinity for Infiniti, we sit down with Dave Lipsky to explore what it truly means to coach across cultures—geographic, organizational, generational, and emotional. Drawing from decades of global leadership and coaching experience, Dave unpacks how culture quietly shapes communication, trust, power dynamics, motivation, and what “success” even means.

Together, we explore:

• Why one-size-fits-all coaching doesn’t work across cultures

• How to listen beyond words—to values, context, and unspoken norms

• The difference between cultural competence and cultural humility

• How coaches and leaders can avoid assumptions while still creating momentum

• Practical tools for building trust and alignment in diverse teams

This conversation is both reflective and practical—filled with real stories, sharp insights, and grounded frameworks that coaches, leaders, and changemakers can immediately apply. Whether you’re leading a global organization, coaching clients from different backgrounds, or simply navigating cross-cultural relationships in daily life, this episode invites you to slow down, listen deeper, and lead with greater awareness.

Because coaching across cultures isn’t about having the right answers—it’s about asking better questions.

In this rich and thoughtful conversation, Rabbi Yitzchok A. Pinkesz invites listeners into a Torah-aligned understanding of astrology—not as fate, but as wisdom. Drawing from more than 15 years of practice and deep study in Jewish philosophy, psychology, and astrology, he reframes the stars as a language of tendencies that illuminate our inner landscape and life patterns.

Rather than predicting outcomes, Kosher Astrology offers a map for choice, growth, and responsibility. The discussion explores how mazal (astrological influence) can help us understand our natural strengths, blind spots, emotional rhythms, and seasons of life—while remaining fully aligned with Torah values, free will, and avodas Hashem. Astrology becomes a mirror, not a mandate.

• Astrology ≠ destiny: It reveals inclinations, not inevitabilities. Awareness creates choice.

• Torah alignment: When studied properly, astrology deepens yiras Shamayim and personal accountability rather than replacing them.

• Personal transformation: Understanding your “cosmic wiring” can support emotional regulation, relationships, leadership, and spiritual growth.

• Integration with psychology: Rabbi Pinkesz weaves celestial insight with modern psychological understanding, creating a grounded, practical framework.

This conversation powerfully complements the Infiniti Coach Training (ICT) philosophy. Both emphasize:

• Deep self-awareness as the gateway to change

• Holding complexity without losing agency

• Choosing response over reaction

• Seeing human beings as dynamic, evolving, and infinitely capable

For coaches, leaders, and seekers, Kosher Astrology adds a meaningful layer to the ICT toolkit, supporting clients in naming patterns, expanding perspective, and making conscious, values-based choices.

Yitzchok A. Pinkesz is a Jewish, Torah-observant astrologer who has been practicing astrology in accordance with the Torah for over 15 years. His fascination with personal transformation led him to extensive research in Jewish philosophy, psychology, and astrology. He brings these three passions together in his acclaimed book Kosher Astrology: A Jewish Guide To Celestial Wisdom.

Learn more & follow his work:

• 📘 Kosher Astrology on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/195237085X/

• 🌐 Website: https://kosherastro.com

• 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kosherastro/

• ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KosherAstro

If you’d like, I can also adapt this into show notes, a LinkedIn post, or a listener reflection + CTA specifically tied to ICT Cohort enrollment.

Key TakeawaysConnection to Infiniti Coach Training (ICT)About Rabbi Yitzchok A. Pinkesz

In this powerful episode, Chaya & Jay sit down with Liz Russell, a master storyteller, strategist, and longtime leader who embodies courage, curiosity, and deep emotional intelligence. Their conversation explores how change truly happens — not through pressure, but through resonance, alignment, and the quiet bravery it takes to listen inward.

Liz shares her journey of discovering her voice, owning her values, and learning to lead from a place of grounded authenticity. She speaks candidly about the moments that shaped her — the pivots, the pauses, and the invitations life offers us to self-author. Her stories illuminate the heart of Intentional Change Theory, demonstrating how people move toward their ideal self when they are met with presence, compassion, and possibility.

Together, Liz, Jay and Chaya unpack:

• The transformative power of being fully seen

• Why storytelling unlocks healing and growth

• How leaders create psychological safety by modeling humanity

• What it means to coach with “radical generosity”

• How to ignite the Positive Emotional Attractor in everyday conversations

Liz brings the rigor of practice and the softness of wisdom — making this episode feel like both a masterclass and a warm invitation to step into your own expansion.

Listeners walk away with practical tools, reflective prompts, and a renewed sense that change is not only possible — it’s already unfolding when we dare to tell the truth of our experience.

In this powerful episode, Chaya Abelsky sits down with Lion Goodman, creator of the Clear Beliefs Method, to explore the deep work of transforming the subconscious patterns that shape our thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

Lion shares how real change begins not with willpower, but with awareness — identifying and releasing the limiting beliefs that keep us stuck in old stories. Together, Chaya and Lion unpack the process of moving from reactivity to responsibility, and how coaches can hold space for clients to rewrite their internal programming with compassion and precision.

Listeners will discover practical insights on:

• How to uncover the core beliefs beneath recurring emotional patterns.

• Why safety and self-compassion are prerequisites for transformation.

• The neuroscience behind belief change and sustainable growth.

• How coaching becomes a sacred act of witnessing truth and calling forth possibility.

As Lion beautifully puts it, “When a belief shifts, the whole world reorganizes around the new truth.”

This episode invites every coach — and every listener — to step into the courageous work of helping people change from the inside out.

In this energizing conversation, Chaya Abelsky and Maryanne Dersch, author and founder of Courageous Communication, explored how fundraisers can move from approval-seeking to alignment, from pressure to purpose, and from fear to freedom.

Maryanne shared practical insights on:

• Building confidence and clarity as a communicator.

• Using neuroscience and emotional intelligence to create connection, not convincing.

• Shifting from “please like us” to “join us.”

• Leading with joy, courage, and authenticity to inspire lasting generosity.

Key Takeaways:

• Courage connects. People give to confidence, not neediness.

• Joy attracts. Positive energy is the most powerful fundraising strategy.

• Authenticity converts. Alignment creates trust — and trust drives generosity.

“When fundraisers feel whole, they raise whole-hearted gifts.” — Maryanne Dersch

In this powerful episode of Affinity for Infiniti, attorney Arnie Herz, Esq. shares the story of the ICU crisis that transformed his life from the inside out. Facing a 50% chance of survival, Arnie found not fear, but overwhelming gratitude—an awakening that reshaped how he lives, leads, and serves.

Together with hosts Chaya Abelsky and Jay McNaught, Arnie explores what it means to move beyond inspiring others to actually becoming the inspiration. From cultivating “habits of a whole heart,” to leading with presence in high-stakes moments, to weaving daily spiritual practice into life and family, this episode offers both deep storytelling and practical tools.

Listeners will walk away with insights on shifting from resume-driven success to values-led living, the quiet power of presence in conflict, and the small daily actions that reconnect us to truth.

🕊️ The Circle of Life with Chanie Mandel
What does it mean to walk someone home—with dignity, compassion, and presence?

In this soul-stirring episode, Chanie Mandel shares her journey from birth doula to end-of-life companion. She opens up about the sacred work of supporting individuals and families through life’s final chapter—bringing calm, clarity, and connection at a time often filled with fear or uncertainty.

🎧 What you'll gain from this episode:

• A deeper understanding of what an end-of-life doula does

• Tools for approaching death with grace and intention

• Insights on how to support loved ones through loss

• A fresh perspective on legacy, love, and emotional presence

Whether you're facing grief, supporting others, or simply seeking to live more intentionally—this conversation will stay with you.

#EndOfLifeDoula #ChanieMandel #AffinityForInfiniti #DeathWithDignity #LegacyWork #GriefHealing #SpiritualCare #JewishPodcast #EmotionalWisdom #CircleOfLife

In this transformative episode of the Infiniti Podcast, Chaya Abelsky and Jay McNaught sit down with Dr. Richard Boyatzis—renowned organizational psychologist and co-author of The Science of Change, the recent breakthrough book now referred to as the bible for coaches. With clarity and warmth, Dr. Boyatzis explores affinity—the emotional bond and human resonance that underpin sustainable behavioral change.

Drawing from his groundbreaking Intentional Change Theory (ICT), Dr. Boyatzis explains how Positive Emotional Attractors (PEAs)—such as compassion, hope, and purpose—activate the parasympathetic nervous system, creating the space needed for learning, openness, and growth. Chaya and Jay dive into what this means for coaches, leaders, and anyone seeking to help others evolve—whether in organizations, classrooms, families, or communities.

💡 Key Takeaways for Leaders & Coaches:

1. Affinity is the starting point – Deep human connection is the gateway to real change, and it’s foundational—not optional.

2. The PEA effect – Neuroscience confirms that when people experience hope and empathy, they access their best thinking and strongest motivation.

3. Lead with resonance – Resonant leaders inspire change by being attuned, authentic, and anchored in vision and care.

4. Shift from fixing to becoming – Coaching is most powerful when it’s about helping people grow into their ideal selves—not merely solving immediate problems.

5. Backed by science, driven by heart – The Science of Change offers a compelling research-backed roadmap to lead transformation with humanity at its core.

In this moving episode of Affinity for INFINITI, Becky Rothstein opens up about her journey through healing, growth, and alignment. With warmth and clarity, Becky shares how she has learned to trust the process, remain present in the moment, and embrace the infinite possibilities that emerge when we live in alignment with our values and purpose.

Becky discusses her passion for holding space for others and the deep listening required to help people reconnect with their truest selves. She speaks about grief and joy coexisting, about the importance of allowing what is, and about how transformation often begins with slowing down and listening within.

Her story is one of resilience, vision, and gentle power—a powerful reminder that the journey to “becoming” is not linear but deeply worthwhile.

Whether you’re a coach, a seeker, or someone navigating your own transitions, this conversation invites you to breathe deeper, show up more fully, and trust that you are exactly where you’re meant to be.